


Parallels

by grogudjarin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, Gen, The Mandalorian (TV) Season 2, The Mandalorian (TV) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28197084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grogudjarin/pseuds/grogudjarin
Summary: CONTENT WARNING: MANDALORIAN S2 FINALE SPOILERSWhen The Mandalorian encounters the son of the Chosen One and the boy who saved the galaxy, he is unaware of the parallels between this formidable Jedi, the man who has arrived to take his son, and himself.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin/Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 7
Kudos: 197





	Parallels

As he stood there, preparing to watch the Jedi take his boy away, the Mandalorian’s thoughts lay only with the well-being of the young one. He didn’t care that any creeds that were about to be broken, because the only thing that mattered to him was Clan Mudhorn. A clan of two, had become a clan of one in an instant with the arrival of the Jedi. But the Mandalorian forced a smile to his face, and told the child and himself that it would be okay, and they would meet again. He had completed his quest and returned the child to its kind, there was nothing more he could do. If he wanted to have any hope of seeing his son again, he knew the young one must learn to control his formidable powers. The Mandalorian would devote his entire life to holding that little silver ball from the ship he had recently lost, watching the child catch it with his powers if it meant he would become a fully trained Jedi. But the Mandalorian knew that wasn’t how this worked. He needed to let him go.

The son of the Chosen One didn’t know that the scene that played out in front of him, a hand caressing a cheek in one last longing touch before the youngling left everything behind to undergo Jedi training, mirrored a scene that played out between his Father and Grandmother. He had never met her, and only met the true version of his Father once, briefly. The Mandalorian removing his helmet to take one last look at his son without the constraints of the visor reminded the young Jedi of his own father’s actions, and the short time they had spent together before his death. He looked away, overcome with emotion.

The Mandalorian closed his eyes as he savoured every moment as he felt another living being touch his skin for the first time since he was a child. But he was also holding in his mind “I love you so much, kid,” in hopes the little one could sense his thoughts, like the female Jedi had said he was able to. The Jedi could certainly sense it, and it moved him the sheer depth of love this strong and formidable warrior had for such a tiny, innocent baby. Maybe Mandalorians weren’t all bad, and the Jedi could forgive the one who wore the green and red armour that betrayed his friends at Cloud City.

The Mandalorian placed the child down, and the little one hugged him one last time, before walking over to a small silver and blue droid who had just arrived at the scene. The child happily babbled away to it, as the droid told him all about the life that awaited him.

 _He seems happy_.

The Mandalorian thought in a desperate attempt to reassure himself.

_But I don’t want him to go._

It pained him that the child had always looked to him for protection, the way he would clasp a gloved finger in an entire green hand every time the Mandalorian held him.

_He doesn’t need me anymore._

The warrior gulped.

_But he needs to do this._

The Mandalorian forced himself to smile at the interaction, and the Jedi met his gaze and offered another reassuring nod. The Mandalorian realised the Jedi could sense his emotions, and hoped at least he could convey them to the child too. But the Mandalorian needn't have worried. The depth of his Father's love for him had been obvious to the child for many months now. So strong was this love, that it made him vulnerable to his fears, as the female Jedi had told the Mandalorian. The Jedi's Father had been vulnerable to his own fears surrounding the mortality of his loved ones too, something that the Jedi still did not fully understand, but a mistake that he was nonetheless keen not to repeat with the little one.

The Jedi did not speak to the Mandalorian at any great length, they weren’t hostile but not exactly friendly either. After confirming he was a Jedi and promising to lay his life down to protect the child - the Mandalorian was unlikely to doubt his capabilities after witnessing him take on dozens of Darktroopers, after only one had almost killed the Mandalorian - the Mandalorian had spoken only to the child. to tell him he would be fine, and they would meet again, he promised. The Mandalorian was reassuring himself as much as he was the child, but he needed to believe it.

If the Jedi and Mandalorian had met under different circumstances, perhaps if their respective allegiances didn’t come with so many hang ups, they would have had the opportunity to talk and discover that they were more alike than they ever knew. They had had similar experiences: The Jedi’s father had sacrificed himself to protect his son so he could live, but really the Jedi had saved his father by loving him. The Mandalorian had lost everything to protect his son, but before that he had saved him from The Client by realising the depth of love he had for the child. Love had touched both of these men’s lives deeply.

It was also the absence of family love that bonded them. The Mandalorian’s memories of his parents hiding him in a hatch, as the separatists attacked his hometown and orphaned him was more than the Jedi had of his parents in his young life. The Jedi was, in a way, orphaned before he was even born. But the two men had nonetheless always felt the absence of their families from their lives. They were both orphans who came from distant, seemingly irrelevant planets, but both had become something greater than themselves when they were taken in as nobodies by organisations who changed their lives. They became the boy who blew up the Death Star and saved the galaxy, and the bounty hunter who reached out a finger to a little green face swaddled in blankets, and found a tiny hand reached back. It was true the child had saved the Mandalorian from physical peril when they fought the Mudhorn, but he had also saved him from so much more. More than the little one would ever know. Maybe one day, he would come to understand the love the Mandalorian had for him.

_I hope he remembers me,_

The Mandalorian gulped.

It was time. The child extended his arms upwards towards the Jedi, as he had done countless times to the Mandalorian, in a signal he wanted to be picked up. The young Jedi cradled him in his arms. The child reminded him of one of his Jedi masters who had since become one with the force, and the Jedi hoped he was, in a way, repaying his debt to the master by taking the little one in and promising to lay down his life for the child..

A pair of huge black eyes peeped out from behind the shoulder of the Jedi’s black robes, taking in one last look at his father. It took all of the Mandalorian’s composure to stop himself from openly weeping, it was more difficult than the hardest battles he had ever fought. Taking on ten Darktroopers would be less painful, he thought. A few tears glistened in the Mandalorian’s eyes, complimenting, ironically, the gleaming armour he wore.

The child was in his new master’s arms, the droid by their side. He looked at the man who had saved his life, and put his life on the line countless times to ensure his safety. Wherever the little one went and whatever came next, he would never have a bond as strong with anyone as he had with the one who wore Beskar.

The Mandalorian would always be the child’s father, just like the Chosen One would always be the Jedi’s.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still sobbing at the finale, you can find me on Twitter @grogulovebot if you want to come and join!


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